Originally by Ranker SportsList RulesAny boxer who competed as a heavyweight is eligible. No other weight classes
The best heavyweight boxers of all time are not just the best boxers in that weight class but also arguably many of the best boxers of all time. These men dominated their matches during their respective times, won championships and even fought each other on occasion in some of the most well known boxing matches in history.
Easily the best of all time, Muhammad Ali is undoubtedly the best heavyweight boxer to ever step in the ring. As the first and only three-time lineal World Heavyweight Champion, Ali fought many of the other members on this list in many of the greatest boxing matches ever such as when he duked it out with Joe Frazier and George Foreman and lost only five matches over his career which spanned over 20 years.
Going beyond "The Greatest," many other notable heavyweight boxers have earned their place on these rankings too. Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Sonny Liston, Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield are all easily among the best heavyweight boxers ever. Even current boxers made the list with the current Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko from the Ukraine a modern legend.
Be them current champions or legends from yesteryear, these are surely boxers that should not be messed with. Share your thoughts on which of these men are the best in their weight class by voting, adding to or re-ranking this list of the best heavyweight boxers of all time.26
1,014915Floyd Patterson
Dec. at 71 (1935-2006)27
1,5071,754Jack Johnson
Dec. at 68 (1878-1946)28
1,095866Anthony Joshua
Age: 3029
412445Henry Cooper
Dec. at 77 (1934-2011)30
424476Jess Willard
Dec. at 87 (1881-1968)31
846851Deontay Wilder
Age: 3432
1,9582,736Larry Holmes
Age: 7033
665775Riddick Bowe
Age: 5234
493567Earnie Shavers
Age: 7435
320360Jerry Quarry
Dec. at 54 (1945-1999)36
433520Ingemar Johansson
Dec. at 77 (1932-2009)37
449553Sam Langford was "The Greatest Fighter Nobody Knows," as he was called by ESPN, and he was indeed a great fighter. He fought in five weight divisions, and experts agree that he was the best boxer never to win a world title. Langford also fought a lot of great fighters such as Joe Gans, Tiger Flowers, Stanley Ketchel, Joe Jeanettei, Jack O’ Brien and Young Peter Jackson. And he also fought no one that would have been considered a "tomato can" or a "bum." He had a very good record even though he fought Harry Wills 17 times and only won twice. He is the greatest Canadian boxer of all time, and was better than most Americans.
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429520George Chuvalo
Age: 8239
211298Jack Sharkey
Dec. at 92 (1902-1994)40
656803Roy Jones Jr.
Age: 5041
440646Tommy Morrison
Dec. at 44 (1969-2013)42
299417David Tua
Age: 47![Ray Mercer]()
43232296Ray Mercer
Age: 5844
335511Michael Spinks
Age: 6345
213301Teófilo Stevenson
Dec. at 60 (1952-2012)46
187294Andy Ruiz Jr.
Age: 3047
258413Frank Bruno
Age: 58Franklin Roy "Frank" Bruno MBE (born 16 November 1961)48
137223Primo Carnera
Dec. at 61 (1906-1967)49
1524Ernie Terrell
Age: 8050
183286David Haye
Age: 39
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